Vengence
by Zach Peters
Summary: Trigun set to the movie The Quick and the Dead. Vash is the stranger with a dark past who comes to town with revenge on his mind. PG13 for language violence adult situations. This is my first time so enjoy.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I have based this story on the movie The Quick and the Dead. Whether it is based loosely or sorely is up to the reader. This is my first Trigun fic so if I do something wrong then please do not heckle me about it. This story is more about the characters then the show's story so they may be OOC for some. I own neither Trigun or the Quick and the Dead. Enjoy.  
  
1  
  
A lone figure rode through the desert land on the back of a Thomas. Not far away a big man with a Mohawk was digging in the ground with his hands instead of the shovel, looking for some money he buried from a heist. He heard the footsteps of the Thomas and saw the man approaching. He grabbed his big boomerang weapon and flung it at him, knocking the driver off his steed.  
  
Descartes turned him over and saw he was a blonde Asian man lying on the ground with a big tear in his already tattered brown coat. The man drew his silver pistol and swatted Descartes over the head, knocking him out.  
  
Later Descartes woke up to see Vash with the long red coat that he had in his coach.  
  
"I'm gonna kill you." Descartes said, standing up but suddenly realized he was tied up by his own boomerang line.  
  
"Thanks for the clothes." Vash said, tipping his yellow sunglasses up over his eyes and with that he turned and rode off.  
  
"Damn you, don't you leave me here. If I ever see you again I'll kill you, so help me God I'll kill you, you bastard!!!!!" Descartes shouted as Vash rode off.  
  
Vash soon rode past a graveyard which lay outside of a nearby town. The sign said "Dimitri". Vash looked over the horizon and knew he had found his destination. As he looked on a bunch of people on Thomas back rode into town. Vash rode in slowly as he passed by the bank and blacksmith. People looked at Vash as he passed by. He saw a man up in the balcony of a building. He had a saxophone in his hand and some women around him. He glared at Vash.  
  
At the outside of a saloon Vash climbed off his steed and walked inside. He saw an old bartender and his son helping him stack whiskey bottles on a high shelf. The bartender only glanced at Vash and continued to his work  
  
"How about a room?" Vash said, taking a sip from his small flask  
  
"I'm sorry, but no Chinamen." The bartender said.  
  
Vash put the flask away when he heard that.  
  
"Say that again?" Vash said, his eyes narrowing  
  
"I say no Chinamen allowed." He repeated.  
  
Suddenly he slipped off his stool and dropped the bottle. Vash reacted quickly and grabbed the man and the bottle. He sat the man down and poured a drink.  
  
"A Chinaman just saved your life. Now do you have a room or not?" Vash demanded.  
  
"Yes sir, one in the back. Come on Kaite lets get the man a room and a bath." The bartender said to his son.  
  
As they left a man all dressed in black swung open the bar doors and stood in the way. He started shuffling a deck of cards.  
  
"Hey bartender, I want a bottle of red wine." He said  
  
"Yes sir." He said.  
  
The man looked at Vash.  
  
"Wanna play poker Mr. Blonde man?" he asked.  
  
"Sorry, I don't gamble." Vash said.  
  
"Ah but it is no ordinary deck. I put in an ace of spades every time I kill a man. The name is Grim Reaper Bostalk." He said, showing off the deck.  
  
Vash didn't listen as he walked out. As he sat on a chair a kid began shining his boots for him.  
  
Vash sipped his drink while he looked at the big mansion at the end of town and saw it had the only green and plants he had seen on the planet. The rest of the world was barren and deserted, but it was like a Garden of Eden. Neil could see that Vash was interested in it.  
  
"Millions Knives owns that house. He gets pleasure from running this town with an iron fist." Neil. The boy, said.  
  
"What does the town get from him?" Vash asked.  
  
"It gets to live." Neil said as he finished the polish job.  
  
Another rider came into town and stopped outside the saloon only it was a woman with long black hair.  
  
"Hi Dominique." Neil said to her  
  
"Shut up." She shouted as she went into the bar and seconds later a man was thrown out. He got on his Thomas and ran off. Suddenly in a split second it looked like she teleported, she aimed her long pistol and fired, knocking him off the steed and killing him. She made a mark on her gun handle  
  
"That makes 15." She said. She looked at Vash and Neil.  
  
"I just got out of prison." She said.  
  
"Good for you." Vash said.  
  
"I had a life sentence but they let me out early." She said, eyeing Vash with her one eye. Her right eye was covered by a small metal plate.  
  
"You're a cutie." Dominique said.  
  
"You're a Cyclops." Vash said.  
  
"I need a man like you in my life." She said  
  
"You need a pirate ship and a parrot." Vash joked. Neil snickered a little. Dominique bumped into the shelf full of Neil's things and knocked it over.  
  
"Oops, must be blind in this eye." She said sarcastically as she walked off. Vash said nothing and finished his drink.  
  
Later Kaite showed Vash to his room. As he passed on room he heard people talking  
  
"We prayed to God there would be a man like you who could help us."  
  
"Well maybe you should've called a priest, this is strictly business, nothing more."  
  
"We have these jewels"  
  
Vash peeked in and saw some peasants making a money pile in front of a blonde man with a mustache and a long cross shaped rifle on his back. The man turned and had a "sheriff" star on him. He slammed the door in Vash's face.  
  
Kaite poured some water into the tub by the bed  
  
"Don't mind my dad, he's just stupid." Kaite said as Vash began unpacking.  
  
"I've never seen a Chinaman carry a gun before. Are you here for the contest?" Kaite kept asking, trying to look at Vash's things but he stopped him.  
  
"I guess I'll go now." Kaite said, leaving  
  
Vash pulled out a faded picture of a woman with dark brown hair. He sighed. 


	2. 2

2  
  
That night in the town there was a big celebration for the yearly quick draw competition. Vash walked into town and heard all the guns being fired off in celebration. He walked back into the saloon and saw a bunch of men who wanted to enter, but only 16 slots were available on the drawing board.  
  
"Quiet." The bartender shouted.  
  
"I now declare the quick draw competition open. Each man must fight once a day. Anyone can challenge anyone. The time will be picked out of the hat for the duration. Any fighter can have whatever he wants courtesy of Mr. Knives, but the man who wins gets this. $$60,000,000,000" He explained as he opened the lock box to reveal the sixty billion double dollars cash to everyone.  
  
Vash sat across the room as Dominique gave him a look.  
  
"Now do we have any real gunmen around here?" the bartender said as he was ready to write names into the brackets on the chalkboard.  
  
"Yes, me." A bearded man said standing up.  
  
"Cliff Schezar, champion in my city." He said as the bartender wrote his name on the board.  
  
Bostalk turned his attention to them.  
  
"Put a skull up there, everyone will know its Grim Reaper Bostalk." He said. The bartender drew a skull in one of the brackets.  
  
"I think you had better put me and my friend Midvalley up there." The man with blue hair said.  
  
"What are you doing? I ain't joining a contest." Midvalley said.  
  
"I had no idea you were such a coward, I wonder if your playing is as bad as your shooting." The man said, egging him on.  
  
"You haven't heard bad music yet boy." Midvalley said, standing up.  
  
"Whoa hold it. It's a shooting contest my friend, we aim and fire, you get the point." He replied.  
  
"Fine, put my name up there." Midvalley said, the bartender wrote both their names down then asked if there was anymore who wanted to join.  
  
"Loose Ruth." The man from before who slammed the door on Vash said as he lit a cigarette.  
  
"Anyone else?" bartender asked.  
  
"Monev the Gale, puny men will leave the town broken in two." A big muscular man said while standing up, he had a big cannon attached to his arm.  
  
"Me too." Dominique said after seeing the money.  
  
The blue haired man went over to Vash. "I sense we are alike. You look like you have been through hell and back as have I. "My name is Bluesummers, but everyone calls me Legato." He said.  
  
"You don't say." Vash said, not really caring.  
  
A young girl with short black hair sat next to Vash and eyed him.  
  
"And you are?" Vash asked.  
  
"Meryl Strife, I'm new in town and I'm just trying to make some friends handsome." She said. Vash noticed a derringer on her person  
  
"So am I." Vash said, not taking her eyes off her.  
  
"Put me in, I'm Frank Marlon, the pride of Warrens." Another man said.  
  
Suddenly a tall man with short light blonde hair wearing a red and white suit walked in accompanied by two body guards with machine guns. Vash saw him and stared him down coldly. The wind blew as he walked in. It was like the world shook in his presence. Everyone turned to him.  
  
"So, how many brave people do we have?" he asked the bartender  
  
"There are 12 right now Mr. Knives, or 13 if you count Cain but he and Chapel aren't back yet." he said.  
  
"They'll be here, their just doing a small job for me right now." Knives said. When he saw Legato's name on the board he gave him an angered look. Knives looked back at the bartender.  
  
"Add my name to the list." Knives said.  
  
"Yes sir." he said, putting Knives' name on the board as the self proclaimed mayor took a seat at his private table.  
  
All of a sudden a chained man was thrown into the saloon. He rolled on the floor before he hit the counter. In walked Cain and Chapel. Knives' personal errand boys.  
  
"We beat the hell out of him." Cain said.  
  
"He's nothing without this." Chapel said, brining in a cross shaped suitcase that he took from the man.  
  
Vash looked at the man and saw he was a priest dressed in a black suit. He had black hair and big blue eyes and bruises from trying to fight back.  
  
"Hello Nick. I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it in time, it's been awhile." Knives said.  
  
"I heard you had a church turned orphanage in December city, your own little piece of Heaven with you and the little orphans praying to god. All that hard work for nothing." Knives said.  
  
"We burned it down like you said to Mr. Knives." Chapel said as he and Cain stood Nick up.  
  
"You used to be fast with a gun Nick, are you still fast?" Knives asked. Nick said nothing.  
  
The people began to laugh at him.  
  
"Are you still fast?!!!!!" Knives shouted, throwing his drink at Nick, who instinctively caught it  
  
"I'm just as fast then you are, but violence is no longer in my vocabulary." Nick said.  
  
"We'll see, string him up on the chair." Knives said as he kicked a chair into the center of the room and threw Chapel a noose. They put the noose around Nick and threw the rope over a rafter as he stood on a chair. Knives took a gun from his men and aimed it at the chair legs.  
  
"I want you in this contest Nick." Knives said.  
  
"Never." Nick said.  
  
"Think about it, that's a lot of money." Knives said. After no answer he shot three of the chair legs. One more and Nick was a goner.  
  
Before he could shoot Vash stuck his arm up.  
  
"Sign me up!!" he said.  
  
"No Chinamen can compete in the contest, it's against the rules." The bartender said.  
  
"There's no rule against it. Look at him; he probably can't shoot for shit." Knives said, laughing as well as the rest of them.  
  
"Adios preacher." Knives said as he shot the last leg and doomed Nick.  
  
Vash drew his big and shiny silver revolver and fired quickly, breaking the rope and saving Nick. Knives and everyone else there was stunned as Vash spun his handgun and put it back in the holster and then sat back down.  
  
Knives grinned. "Put them both in the contest." He said  
  
"Free drinks for all fighters." The bartender said as the men took Nick outside and chained him to the statue.  
  
That night Vash dreamed of the brunette from the picture, and a young blonde boy talking to her, and a shadowy figure looming over them.  
  
The party went on all night. In the morning Vash woke up on a hard bed and saw Meryl lying next to him.  
  
"Good morning handsome." She said.  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"You look like you had fun last night." Legato said as he stood at the counter outside the bedroom. They were in his gun shop.  
  
"You won that drinking contest, but then you won me in poker." Meryl explained, getting dressed.  
  
"My head feels like it's been run over by a coach." Vash said, putting on his black shirt to cover his scars and then he put on his red coat.  
  
"This bed is like a rock, how do you sleep on this Legato?" Vash asked.  
  
"If I don't then people will steal it." He explained. Vash moved the sheet up and saw 5 or 6 kegs of TNT under the bed.  
  
"So, who are you going to challenge today?" Legato asked, playing with a white Colt pistol  
  
"Knives." Vash said, standing up.  
  
"Ooh, bad idea. I'm the only one who can take him and I ain't rushing into that." Legato said.  
  
"Why not?" Vash asked.  
  
"Well hell, he's my father." Legato said, walking out. Vash's eyes widened when he said that. 


	3. 3

3  
  
Gunfighters walked around town and glared at each other, all of them wondering who they should challenge first. Nick stood up with his chains binding him to the statue. Someone struck a match to light cigarette and then knocked him down. It was Cain.  
  
"Have you been challenged to a fight yet?" he asked. Nick shook his head.  
  
"Good, then I challenge you. I'll go get the time." Cain said, walking on him as he went to the saloon.  
  
Vash looked down on Nick but helped him up.  
  
"Did you sleep well?" Vash asked.  
  
"It's hard to when you're confined against your will." Nick said. Both looked as Knives' men took the safety off the rifles they had. Knives stepped outside and headed for the saloon. His goons followed him.  
  
"Why don't you fight back? Don't you even care?" Vash said.  
  
"Of course I do, I want to make them all pay, but then again "Thou Shall Not Kill"". Nick explained.  
  
"Some people need to die." Vash said, staring Knives down through his round yellow sunglasses.  
  
Inside the saloon Knives was taking his cut of the profits the bartender made. The bartender then tried to make excuses to save some of it.  
  
"I'm not buying your excuses Gene, where is the rest?" Knives asked. Vash stood right by Knives while ordering a drink. He went for his pistol but someone put a hand on Vash's shoulder.  
  
It was Descartes, the man Vash stole from and left chained up.  
  
"I challenge you." He said, the chain hanging off his arm while it was attached to a broken wagon wheel.  
  
"I'm not fighting YOU." Vash said, turning away.  
  
"You have no choice." He said.  
  
"Why are you here?" Knives asked Vash, looking at him.  
  
"I want the money." Vash said, turning to the counter.  
  
"Well then you have to play by the rules. If you don't want to abide by my rules then get the hell out of my town." Knives said before taking a drink of wine.  
  
"The Blonde man fights Descartes, and they fight at.....8:00 o'clock tonight." Gene said, drawing the time from a hat.  
  
Bolstalk was showing off his shooting talents. As a little girl held up a card he shot right thought the ace. The townsfolk applauded.  
  
"Nice shot." Knives said, watching.  
  
"I am the best in town." Bolstalk said, gloating.  
  
"That's what I hear, should we find out?" Knives asked, challenging him. Bolstalk nodded.  
  
The people began to gather at noon for the first fight of the day. It was Legato and Cliff Schezar up first. Both men began preparing by tuning up their guns. Cliff had an automatic pistol while Legato had two gold automatic ones. Time drew near.  
  
Gene stood at the podium.  
  
"Clear the street, time for the gunfight." He shouted.  
  
"Gentlemen, you are not to draw until that clock makes the first chime of the hour. Whoever is left standing is the winner."  
  
"Whoa wait a second, what if someone gets an itchy trigger finger and fires early?" Legato asked.  
  
"If they cheat, they'll be eliminated from the contest, permanently." Knives said, watching from his chair. The men loaded their guns.  
  
"Good luck gentlemen." Gene said.  
  
"I aim to kill boy." Cliff said, standing about 10 feet from Legato  
  
"You're too kind." Legato said, readying his hand.  
  
Time winded down, the hand moved and made a click when it hit 12.  
  
Both men drew.  
  
BANG  
  
Cliff held the wound on his side as he sank to one knee.  
  
Legato held his gun. "Whoa man am I fast." He said to himself.  
  
"Did you see how fast I was?" Legato said as he turned to the crowd, but Cliff aimed his pistol again. Legato turned and fired again, hitting him in the leg.  
  
"Are you done? You better stay down Mr. Quick draw champion unless you're still fighting." Legato said as he pointed his gun.  
  
"Yes, I quit. You win." He said, throwing his gun away.  
  
"Legato is the winner by forfeit." Gene said. The people cheered. The people picked him up and carried him in celebration. "Good shooting kid." One man said as they stopped in front of Knives.  
  
"Good shooting? If the man had been any slower he'd have birds living in his beard." Knives said.  
  
"Ah he's too afraid to admit it, come on guys, drinks are on me." Legato said.  
  
Knives sat by the chained Nick. "Brings back memories doesn't it? It makes your heart beat faster." he asked.  
  
The day went on, men and women challenging each other, some moved up, others died or were beaten. Only 8 would make it to the next round. It came time for Nick and Cain's fight.  
  
"It's time." Knives said as he walked by Nick  
  
"I ain't gonna fight." Nick said, and was knocked down from behind by Chapel.  
  
"Move it, don't keep Mr. Knives waiting." He said as he hurried up and threw Nick into the gun shop.  
  
Chapel mocked him. "Sermon over." He said.  
  
Nick, while on the ground, knocked the swinging door into Chapel's face with his foot.  
  
"My eyes!!!" Chapel said, holding them.  
  
"I'm shocked at you." Knives said to Nick, and turned to Legato. "My reverend friend needs a gun." He said.  
  
"There are other stores in town, but I guess their not as cheap enough for you right?" Legato said.  
  
"You know your mouth gets faster every day, it's a pity your gun fighting isn't as fast." Knives said, snickering.  
  
"I ain't slow; I am just as good as you." Legato said.  
  
"Put your gun hand on the counter, go on. See Nick, my hand is a gun fighter's hand, his is an eating hand." Knives said, referring to Legato's hand.  
  
"I ain't got no god damn slow hands!!!" he shouted.  
  
"You know Nick and me are killers, the genuine article. Now my friend needs a gun. Do you have any or not?" Knives demanded.  
  
"Fine." He said, opening a case to reveal a shiny white and silver gun.  
  
"Can you remember the last time you held a gun?" Knives asked.  
  
Nick didn't answer as he looked at it.  
  
"Can I try it?" he asked.  
  
Legato tossed it to him. Nick caught it and spun it on his finger, pointing to fire as in practice.  
  
"How much?" Knives asked.  
  
"150 double dollars." Legato said, and he wouldn't drop the price.  
  
"Do you even have that much Nick?" Knives asked, turning to him.  
  
"I have no money, the good Lord provides me with all I need." Nick said, handing the black Colt back to Legato.  
  
"Then we're just wasting time. What is the cheapest gun you have? I mean the cheapest peace of shit you have in the whole stinking shop." Knives asked.  
  
Legato came back a moment later with a rusted silver .45 automatic pistol. "5 bucks." He said.  
  
"I'll take it." Knives said.  
  
Legato took the clip out and began putting bullets in it.  
  
"Whoa hold it; the preacher man has God on his side. He needs only one bullet. Otherwise he may be tempted to shoot his way out of town." Knives said, getting a holster for Nick.  
  
Legato put one in the chamber and emptied the clip then handed the pistol to Nick. "That gun fires hard, I wouldn't sell it if it didn't." he told him.  
  
"It's okay, I won't draw." Nick said, putting it in the holster.  
  
"Oh yes you will, I know you too well Nick. When it's time you'll pull the trigger." Knives said. Nick just sighed as they walked out. 


	4. 4

4  
  
In the cleared street people began throwing tomatoes, dung, and anything they could at Nick as he was escorted by Knives and his men to the center where Cain waited.  
  
Cain threw his hat off and readied his hand on the revolver under his poncho.  
  
Time ticked down to the hour. Nick began whispering prayers, waiting for the bullet to come.  
  
The clock hit 12  
  
BANG  
  
Nick's pistol was smoking and Cain held a bullet hole in his chest. Nick looked down in horror at how he drew his gun so quickly like the old days.  
  
Knives walked up to him. "See, it just feels natural doesn't it?" he asked as the men took the pistol from him and chained him to the post at the saloon.  
  
"Thought you weren't gonna fight preacher." Chapel said, walking off. Vash sat by him.  
  
"You're fast. I knew you were no ordinary preacher, I hope I don't have to fight you." Vash said.  
  
"You can go, but I can't. I was the only one who fired my gun." Nick said.  
  
"I guess this town doesn't want a preacher." Vash said  
  
"I wasn't always like this. I-" Nick stopped when he saw Knives.  
  
"Nick was an outlaw, like me. We used to ride together and go on killing sprees. There were times when you couldn't stop us." Knives said before going into the saloon.  
  
"Is that true?" Vash asked him, with an angry look on his face.  
  
"Yes...." Nick said looking down.  
  
"I should've left you for dead." Vash said, standing up and then walked off.  
  
Later Vash saw a young girl with brown hair being cuddled by the man with the saxophone. Midvalley was whispering things into her ear.  
  
Vash said nothing and just looked.  
  
"What are you looking at Blondie?" Midvalley said.  
  
"A girl and a letch." Vash said,  
  
"I gotta be going now." Milly, the girl, said.  
  
Midvalley walked up to Vash.  
  
"One of these days I'm gonna play you a lullaby." He said, making a cutthroat gesture at Vash.  
  
Knives walked onto the street with his gun belt on and stood in front of Bolstalk.  
  
"Mr. Bolstalk, I wanted to ask you about the plantations at July. Did you really cause that?" Knives asked  
  
"I sure did." Bolstalk said, combing his mustache  
  
"You must be the most dangerous man in the world, or a big liar." Knives said, taking off his white coat, wearing a red vest underneath.  
  
"It's too bad you didn't get to see it happen." Bolstalk said.  
  
"Oh but I did. You see I was the one who caused the July massacre, and I doubt a lying bastard like you was even in the next town." Knives said.  
  
Clock hit the 12  
  
BANG  
  
There was a gaping hole in Bolstalk's hand.  
  
"How about a left handed draw? You boasted about being good with both." Knives said, stretching.  
  
Bolstalk went for his left gun  
  
BANG  
  
There was a hole in his left hand now too; Knives had drawn with his left hand to fire this time.  
  
"Grim Reaper Bolstalk, the infamous outlaw who single-handedly destroyed an entire town. A lie." Knives said, firing into Bolstalk's stomach, killing him.  
  
Knives was applauded by the reluctant audience as he went back into the mansion.  
  
The people began looting the body to find anything they could until there was nothing left on him.  
  
Vash turned away after seeing Knives fight; he ran back into his hotel room and closed his eyes as more bad dreams haunted him.  
  
"What is going on?" Vash said in the escape pod.  
  
"Vash, take care of Knives." A voice said. "No Rem, no!!!!" Vash shouted. Behind him a voice chuckled.  
  
A knock on the door woke Vash from his nightmare; he sat up quickly pointing his gun at the door. It was Kaite.  
  
"They're calling for you out on the street." He said.  
  
Vash stood up and put his red coat back on.  
  
"Mister Vash....good luck." Kaite said  
  
Vash patted him on the head. "Thanks kid." He said.  
  
Vash walked outside, where everyone waited.  
  
"There's a click before the strike, wait for it." Nick whispered to Vash as he walked by.  
  
Vash stood at one end of the street while Descartes stood at the other end, twirling his boomerang.  
  
"The last fight of the day. You may fire at the first chime of the clock." The bartender said.  
  
"You're dead now boy. Look at you, trembling like a leaf." Descartes said.  
  
Vash listened and waited for the click like Nick said.  
  
It hit just before 12  
  
BANG  
  
Descartes was sent to the ground, holding the wound on his shoulder.  
  
"The Blonde man is the winner." The bartender said.  
  
"Whoa, he's fast." Legato said.  
  
Vash spun his silver pistol and put it back in the holster; he saw Meryl and got a victory kiss from her. He then looked up at Knives who raised his glass to him.  
  
Kaite walked alongside Vash "I think you're amazing." He said.  
  
"Thank you, I am amazing, but no more then you or anyone else." Vash said.  
  
"Thanks." He said as he passed Nick.  
  
"Fighting will resume tomorrow." The bartender said as everyone went inside. 


	5. 5

5  
  
That night Knives held a banquet for the 8 remaining fighters; Legato, Dominique, Loose Ruth, Midvalley, Monev, Vash, and himself. Nick wasn't invited because he was still chained up.  
  
Knives looked at Vash eat some doughnuts from the dessert tray. "You may think we have nothing in common but we do, we're both winners." He told Vash  
  
Vash stopped.  
  
"Yes but I feel no different from the day before." Vash said  
  
"No, you feel like you have survived." Knives said  
  
"I guess killing people excites you more than anyone." Vash replied.  
  
"I don't hold these contests for fun, I do it so my enemies can face me, and so no one can come up and shoot me in the back." Knives said.  
  
"Maybe one day your winning streak will end." Vash sneered.  
  
"I'm not lucky, I'm the best." Knives said.  
  
The next day it rained hard, canceling the time of fights. Nick held his head out to catch the raindrops falling.  
  
Nick laughed a little; finally glad to get a drink.  
  
He didn't notice Vash sitting on the chair nearby.  
  
"Sorry about that. It's kinda hard to get a drink around here." Nick said.  
  
Vash didn't answer; he didn't even look at him.  
  
Nick thought it was time to explain his past.  
  
"I was only a boy when I met Knives. He thought I was different from others, and I guess he wanted me to be just like him. We used to go on heists along the Caravan trades. At one heist we ran into a horde of feds, we got shot up so bad that we were the only two left alive. A priest hid us in his mission. Once we were healthy enough to leave Knives told me to shoot the preacher, I said no. He said either I kill him or we both die. So I shot the priest. Now it doesn't matter what I do I'm damned for eternity."  
  
Vash just shook his head.  
  
In Knives' mansion he talked to Loose Ruth.  
  
"Why did you call me here?" Ruth asked.  
  
"I came to ask you a question, and that is who paid you to come here?" Knives asked.  
  
Ruth chuckled a bit.  
  
"Mr. Knives I'm just an adventurer and I heard about this gunfight." He said.  
  
"I thought Bolstalk was the hired gun but he was just a liar, you aren't." Knives said.  
  
"Alright, I am actually a bounty hunter. I am Loose Ruth, and I am known to others as Constance Rifle. I've killed 17 outlaws, 3 bank robbers, and 1 corrupt sheriff. My employer will remain anonymous" He explained, showing the sheriff star he took.  
  
"Do we have business today?" Ruth asked Knives.  
  
"As soon as the rain stops I'm going to make an example of you." Knives said.  
  
Ruth laughed again.  
  
After the storm Knives walked out while Legato was telling a story about his run in with the Roderick slave traders.  
  
"It was a brave thing of you to compete, now step down with no regrets." Knives said to Legato.  
  
"I'll only step down when you step down." Legato snapped.  
  
Knives turned to face him. "Don't ever cross me boy. You're nothing like me, and you never will be." He said.  
  
"4 fights today, the winner will be the one left standing." The bartender said.  
  
"Left alive..." Knives said, correcting him.  
  
"The winner will be the man left alive. From now on we fight to the death." The bartender said.  
  
"I didn't see that coming Knives, what a surprise." Nick said sarcastically.  
  
"You have a problem with that?" Knives asked Ruth.  
  
"I was planning to kill you anyway." Ruth said, grabbing his rifle.  
  
The clock ticked down to the 12, the top of the hour.  
  
It hit 12.  
  
BANG  
  
Ruth fell back with a hole in his stomach.  
  
Knives put his big black gun in his holster.  
  
"I'm wondering, you whiny people say you can't afford my taxes and yet you keep hiring professional gunmen to kill me. If you people have so much to hide I'm gonna take more from you. You clearly haven't got the idea. This is MY town!! If you live I allow it. I decide if you live or if you die."  
  
Ruth tried to aim for Knives, who spun around and put a bullet right through his heart, lungs and head quickly.  
  
"Let this be a lesson, I cannot be defeated. You will do as I say." Knives said, holstering his gun again and leaving.  
  
Later in the day it was Legato vs. Dominique.  
  
Both fired when the clock hit 12.  
  
Legato fell to his knees, everyone thought he was hit but Dominique fell back with a bullet hole in her bad eye.  
  
"Gotcha, I told you I am the best, and I am the next mayor of this town!!!" He shouted to Knives.  
  
Everyone cheered Legato as they went in the saloon.  
  
"Looks like it's gonna rain again, no more fights until we see what happens." The bartender said.  
  
There was some commotion upstairs from the saloon. Later Milly ran downstairs and out the door.  
  
Midvalley came down the stairs and went to the counter. Vash overheard how Milly was not willing to sleep with him.  
  
Vash grabbed him and threw him to the floor.  
  
"Get up, right now!!!!" Vash shouted.  
  
Both of them started to fist fight until some guys pulled them apart.  
  
"Outside, now!!!!!" Vash ordered.  
  
"You got it bastard!!!" Midvalley shouted back.  
  
Out on the street in the rain both began firing at each other.  
  
Midvalley fired his saxophone's machinegun while Vash fired back with his silver pistol.  
  
One shot nailed Midvalley in the stomach, and another in the shoulder.  
  
Vash stood over his opponent holding the gun at his temple. Knives stood outside of his house watching.  
  
"No, please, I don't wanna die. Please no, oh God, don't kill me. Knives help!!!" Midvalley pleaded.  
  
"Finish him!!!!" Knives shouted to Vash.  
  
Vash slowly put the hammer back up on his pistol and backed off.  
  
"This fight is not over until one of you is dead, finish him." Knives ordered.  
  
Back in the saloon Vash ordered a drink when Midvalley snuck up behind him from the door.  
  
"Die Blonde man!!!" he shouted, not noticing that one of the muzzles on his sax was clogged with one of Vash's stray bullets.  
  
"No, stop, don't!!!!" Vash shouted  
  
It was too late, when Midvalley pulled the trigger the sax exploded, taking him along with it.  
  
Knives walked over with an umbrella in hand.  
  
The people looted Midvalley's body.  
  
"So the Blonde man moves to the next round." Knives said.  
  
Vash said nothing and walked off, feeling guilty he could not stop the man from dying.  
  
The rain poured down all day that day like an ominous cloud hung over the town. 


	6. 6

6  
  
After the rain stopped it was the time for Nick to fight Monev the Gale.  
  
"I, Monev the Gale, am indestructible!!" he shouted to Nick.  
  
Nick took his pistol from Chapel.  
  
"Thanks Chapel." Nick said.  
  
"So long." Chapel said.  
  
Nick holstered his pistol and waited for the clock to hit the top of the hour  
  
Vash saddled up his Thomas.  
  
"Hey wait a moment? Where are you going?" Meryl asked.  
  
"I need a ride to clear my head." Vash said, getting on top of the Thomas.  
  
"Look, I've been meaning to tell you this but, I..."  
  
Vash didn't listen as he rode off out of town and into the empty land.  
  
"I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!" Meryl shouted.  
  
Monev started up the gun barrels on his arm and had a big bazooka on his back.  
  
The clock hit 12.  
  
BANG  
  
Vash's Thomas reacted to the shot heard far away.  
  
Nick was still standing but Monev wasn't until he began to get up and then sink down. Luckily for Nick he hit him in his head.  
  
Chapel locked Nick back into the chains.  
  
"Nice shooting preacher. It looks like you're heading to the semi finals." He said.  
  
Nick said nothing as he was pulled off. Milly wiped a tear from her face.  
  
Vash wandered around the gravesite to see if he could find a grave he made. An old man from town who was also the doctor saw him and knew what he knew.  
  
"I know you are looking for Rem's memorial. It's gone; Knives burned it down after you put it up here." The old man said.  
  
Vash looked up at the man.  
  
"So you know who I am?" He said.  
  
"Yes, but I have not seen you since you were a child." The old man replied.  
  
Vash pulled out a faded ID card with the words "Project SEEDS" on it. The name read "Rem Saverem" and had the brown haired girl's picture on it.  
  
"She was a true friend."  
  
"The people of that town are good, but they're just afraid. They keep hoping and praying that someone like you would come and stop him. No one can do it but you."  
  
"I can't, I had my chance and I chickened out. I can't to kill him." Vash said with sadness in his tone.  
  
"You have to." The old man said.  
  
Vash had more flashbacks of his past.  
  
Now that Rem is gone you and I can build a whole new world for just us and no one to get in our way." He said.  
  
"You bastard. Give Rem back!!!!!" Vash shouted.  
  
Knives knocked Vash down when he tried to punch him.  
  
"She was such a fool. She really thought she could save the people." Knives chuckled.  
  
ORBITAL TRACJECTORY CHANGING.  
  
"What? No!!!" Knives shouted.  
  
Vash stopped when it began raining again. Without a doubt in his mind he rode back to town to finish this once and for all. The next day he found Knives sitting on a bench in front of the saloon and stormed towards him.  
  
"I challenge you." Vash said.  
  
"No." Knives said.  
  
"I won't fight anyone else. It's you I want." Vash demanded.  
  
"I've already been challenged." Knives said as Legato, with his friends, walked up.  
  
"It's time to see if I'm my dad's equal." He said as he went into the saloon.  
  
"You would fight your own kid. I'm gonna kill you if I have to follow you to the ends of the earth and back." Vash swore.  
  
"Did I wrong you in another life or something? What is it with you wanting to challenge me?" Knives asked.  
  
Vash didn't answer as he walked off.  
  
At the saloon Vash and Nick talked.  
  
"I won't fight you." They both said to each other.  
  
"Just step down, let me take him in the finals." Nick pleaded.  
  
"I won't, I came here to kill Knives and that's what I'm going to do." Vash said.  
  
Knives overheard them talking.  
  
"Look, you WILL fight each other. No one backs out. You should've left when you had the chance. If you don't fight or try to leave town my men will shoot you." He threatened.  
  
Later that day the time came for the fight with Legato and Knives.  
  
"Clear the street, only 2 fights today. Mr. Knives fights Legato, and the Blonde man fights Nick." The bartender said.  
  
Vash talked to Legato in the gun shop.  
  
"You don't have to do this Legato. You have nothing left to prove." He pleaded with Legato.  
  
"I do, I want him to acknowledge me as his own, even if I have to kill him to do it in." Legato said, loading his pistols.  
  
Knives waited on the street as Legato strolled out. The people cheered him as he took his position at the other end of the street.  
  
"You made your point, drop out now while you still can." Knives said to him.  
  
"Look people, he's scared. The old man isn't as fast as he used to be, and as for me. I'm in my prime." Legato said, spinning his guns and holstering them.  
  
Both men held their hands close to the grips of their guns as the clock ticked down to the 12.  
  
It hit 12, both men drew.  
  
BANG, BANG  
  
Knives held his shoulder as he fell back, his men rushed over to him.  
  
"I......got him." Legato said as he sank to the ground with a bullet hole in his heart.  
  
Vash and some townsfolk rushed over to help Legato.  
  
Suddenly Knives stood up, it seems Legato's aim was off a tad and only grazed his shoulder. The bartender shook his head in anguish, hoping Knives had died.  
  
Legato looked up.  
  
"Did I kill him?" Legato asked.  
  
"You got him kid." Vash said.  
  
Legato slipped away as Knives stood over him with a cloth on his wound.  
  
"It was never proved he was mine. It was the plant that- no, he wasn't mine." Knives said.  
  
Vash glared at him, not even giving recognition to his dead son.  
  
"I gave him a chance to drop out, but he wouldn't. What do you want from me?" Knives said, and with that he walked off.  
  
Vash sat in the bedroom of the gun shop, and then he had an idea. He spoke to Neil about a certain item and then talked to Nick until the time to fight.  
  
"I need your help." Vash said.  
  
"What do you have in mind?" Nick asked, curious. 


	7. 7

7  
  
Both men stepped onto opposite sides of the street. Neither were ready to draw, and when the clock hit 12 neither one drew to fire while Knives watched.  
  
"Either you start shooting at each other by the time I count down from 10, we will gun you down." Knives said as his men loaded their guns.  
  
"10.........9.........8....."  
  
"Draw." Nick said to Vash.  
  
"You draw." Vash replied.  
  
"7.........6......5......"  
  
"Kill me damn it." Nick shouted.  
  
"I won't, now draw." Vash shouted back.  
  
"4........3.......2...."  
  
"Either kill me or I'm gonna kill you." Nick shouted.  
  
"1!!!!"  
  
Before Knives and his men could fire, Nick drew and shot Vash in the stomach, sending him to the ground.  
  
The old doctor inspected his body.  
  
"He's dead, stay away from him you buzzards!!!!!!!" he shouted.  
  
Some men carried Vash's body off as Meryl wept he heart out.  
  
"I swear I'm gonna kill you for this you bastard." Nick shouted to Knives, who chuckled.  
  
Nick wasn't going to wait for tomorrow to fight as he attacked Knives' men, smashing Chapel in his nose again and throwing the other men down, but before he could lay a finger on Knives he had a derringer pointed at him. The men knocked Nick down as Knives pointed the small gun at his head.  
  
"We will fight tomorrow; I'll let you pick the time." Knives said.  
  
"I choose in the morning, sunrise." Nick said.  
  
The men hauled him off as Knives went back inside his mansion to prepare.  
  
That night Chapel took the chance to beat Nick up for breaking his nose before.  
  
Knives sat in his pajamas as he sharpened the bullets to his gun with a file. He had waited a long time for this day and he was going to be ready.  
  
In the morning the men hauled out a battered Nick. Knives noticed a bruise on his drawing arm.  
  
"Who did this?" Knives demanded.  
  
"I did." Chapel said proudly.  
  
"You ruined everything you idiot, get out of my town. I'll give you a 10 second head start." Knives said.  
  
Chapel ran for the hills, knowing he wasn't kidding.  
  
"What do you say Nick, I could draw with my other hand. Unlike some people I CAN fight with both hands." Knives said.  
  
When the 10 seconds were up the men pelted Chapel with rifle shots, knocking him to the ground.  
  
"I've always wanted to fight you Nick; you were the only one who could ever rival me. I'm trembling with sensation." Knives said, and with that he walked to the end of the street.  
  
"No matter what happens, if he is still standing at the end, kill him, and then kill the rest of these vermin" Knives whispered to his men. All of them took a vantage point on buildings and balconies alike.  
  
Nick only had one shot in his pistol and had to make it count as Knives waited for the clock to hit 12.  
  
It hit  
  
BOOM  
  
Before Knives could fire, his mansion exploded behind him, and then the tower exploded, and so did the bank. Knives' men who stood on them were thrown off or caught in the blast.  
  
When the smoke cleared a figure walked toward Knives. It was Vash. The townspeople, Meryl and Knives especially, were stunned.  
  
"No, it can't be, YOUR DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!" Knives shouted.  
  
Vash revealed a bottle of tomato juice in his hand and poured it out as he walked towards Knives  
  
One of his men aimed at Vash but Nick took the chance to knock him out with his pistol.  
  
"Milly, my luggage!!!" Nick shouted. Milly rushed out with Nick's cross shaped suitcase and tossed it to him. Nick wasted no time pulling the strap and sheet off and picked the big metal cross up by the handle in the center. Nick clicked a button and the long end of the cross opened to reveal a machine gun. He fired at the remaining men on top of the buildings, killing them. When some men rushed out of the saloon to help them, Nick turned his cross around as the short end revealed a rocket launcher which he fired and blew the building and men to smithereens. He turned to Knives.  
  
"Sorry Knives, we changed the rules of this competition. From now on everyone fights fair and square." He said.  
  
Knives turned back to Vash.  
  
"Who are you??????" he shouted.  
  
Vash answered by slinging a card into the ground at Knives' feet. He immediately recognized the name and the picture on it.  
  
"You ruined my life." Vash said angrily.  
  
Knives looked back up at him.  
  
"Vash........brother...." Knives stammered, unable to believe his own brother who had been missing for years was right under his nose.  
  
Knives began having flashbacks now about that fateful day.  
  
"We have to get to the escape pod." Rem said.  
  
"I don't understand, what's going on?" Vash asked.  
  
"Someone must have re-routed the ships, at this rate they'll crash on that planet." Knives said.  
  
Rem stopped for a moment and looked back.  
  
"You two go on, I have to save these people." Rem said as she opened the door and ushered young Vash and Knives in.  
  
"Rem no, you can't leave us." Vash pleaded, trying to grab her but only grabber her 1D tag and pulling it off.  
  
"Vash, take care of Knives, everything will be okay." Rem said as the door closed.  
  
Vash could do nothing but watch as the pod he and Knives were in eject from the ship which burned up in the atmosphere.  
  
"No Rem!!!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!" Vash shouted as tears began pouring down his face as he knew Rem was gone.  
  
Knives laughed out loud.  
  
"Foolish girl, now she's gone and only the two of us will be left alive." He said, revealing to Vash that he was the mastermind behind all this.  
  
"ALL SHIPS NOW CHANGING COURSE" the computer voice said.  
  
The ships with the people on it ignited their thrusters and began back on their original course to land on earth safely.  
  
"She actually did it. Damn her." Knives said.  
  
Vash knocked Knives out from behind as he looked out the window.  
  
When Knives woke up Vash was gone, the door to the pod was open as they were on the planet now.  
  
Knives gritted his teeth.  
  
"You still aren't fast enough for me dear brother!!!!" Knives shouted.  
  
"I feel lucky today." Vash shot back.  
  
Neither waited for the clock to hit 12, both drew  
  
Vash held a wound on his shoulder; it looked like he had missed Knives, who chuckled.  
  
Suddenly Knives looked down and saw a hole clean through his body; the shot went clear through him so well he didn't even feel it.  
  
Knives aimed again, but this time Vash was the faster. He fired the rest of the 5 shots in his revolver, hitting Knives in the arms, legs, and finally one in the head. Knives fell to the ground, dead.  
  
Vash spun his silver revolver and holstered it.  
  
He picked up Rem's ID and put it in his pocket. He searched Knives' body and found the sheriff star he took from Loose Ruth. Vash turned to Nick and tossed it to him.  
  
"The law is needed in town; looks like you've been elected." Vash said.  
  
Nick looked at the star and nodded.  
  
Without a goodbye Vash climbed onto his Thomas and donned his yellow sunglasses. With a whip of the reigns he was off. The people cheered him as he stopped at the edge of town where Meryl was waiting.  
  
"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" Meryl asked.  
  
Vash looked ahead, and then offered her a hand, which she took as she crawled on top of the Thomas with him. Vash kissed her as they rode into the sunset. Nick just smiled at them as Milly joined him by his side.  
  
Dimitri was free again. 


End file.
